Xfce Forum

Hypersphere

Member

Registered: 2014-02-03

Posts: 7

Still cannot display desktop icons on right-hand monitor

I am testing Linux Mint 19 64-bit Xfce. I like the distro and DE very much, but I was quite disappointed to discover that Xfce still does not permit displaying desktop icons and desktop files on the monitor of choice in a multiple-monitor setup.

For example, with 3 monitors arranged in a horizontal row, I would like to be able to choose the center or the right-hand monitor for displaying desktop items, but they are always displayed on the monitor on the far left.

Certain other desktop environments enable placement of desktop icons on any monitor. These include Cinnamon, KDE, and Windows. For a number of other reasons, I prefer to use Xfce, but the lack of control of desktop icon placement in Xfce is frustrating.

MountainDewManiac

Member

From: Where Mr. Bankruptcy is Prez

Registered: 2013-03-24

Posts: 1,115

Re: Still cannot display desktop icons on right-hand monitor

Multiple-monitor setups have always seemed to be Xfce's weak spot. ToZ or one of the other knowledgeable folks here might be able to give you some kind of workaround, but in the mean time... is anything preventing you from swapping your left monitor with your center (or right) one, lol?

Regards,
MDM

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Mountain Dew Maniac

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ToZ

Administrator

From: Canada

Registered: 2011-06-02

Posts: 11,492

Re: Still cannot display desktop icons on right-hand monitor

See: https://forum.xfce.org/viewtopic.php?id=11187.

An enhancement is required to create a placement model for desktop icons.

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Hypersphere

Member

Registered: 2014-02-03

Posts: 7

Re: Still cannot display desktop icons on right-hand monitor

Yes, it seems that there is no entirely satisfactory workaround for this problem. I have posted on the Xfce bugzilla site as a feature request.

For me, the issue is compounded by the way I have my computers set up. I have three computer tables. Each table has 3 computers and 3 monitors. Two computers are running Linux-Xfce and one computer is running Windows 10. Each computer is connected to all 3 monitors. All 3 computers share a keyboard and mouse using a combination of a hardware KM switch and a software KM switch (Synergy).

I can switch the inputs on each monitor so that at any given time, I am using one computer on all 3 monitors, 3 computers with one monitor each, or any combination in between.

So, there are times when I might be looking at a Windows computer on the far-left monitor and a Linux-Xfce computer on the far-right monitor. In this scenario, I would not be able to see the desktop icons and desktop files on the Linux-Xfce computer without opening up the file manager or switching to mirroring of the displays.